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ABSTRACT To achieve higher energy security and lower emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and pollutants, the development of renewable energy has attracted much attention in Taiwan. In addition to its [...]

Introduction of photovoltaic (PV) systems, also known as solar cell systems, reduces greenhouse gasses (GHGs) emission, by substituting a part of the GHG intensive generation with GHG-free generation during effective daylight hours. Because power is generated from different kinds of power plants operated with momentarily changing proportion, consideration of resulting changes in the power mix is needed to correctly estimate the reduction potential of a large scale introduction scenario. In this paper, a linear mathematical programming model is constructed to simulate a power mix for a given power demand under a cost minimization objective. Using the model, GHG emission reduction potentials at different scales of PV introduction were calculated assuming an ideal solar irradiation. A comparison of daily power generation before and after the introduction indicates that reduction potentials calculated with averaged GHG emission factor could result in errors, because PV systems neither replace averaged nor the single kind of power generations, but affects the entire power mix and reduces fossil fuel consumption. It is shown that the GHG emission reduction per kWh of power generated by PV differs at different capacities of installation. Namely, for the initial introduction stage, reduction would be close to fossil fuel fired power plant average for an introduction range less than 1 GWp. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9402(2008)134:2(58) CE Database subject headings: Powerplants; Emissions; Solar energy; Renewable resources.

Telehealth cost analysis has become a crucial issue for governments in recent years. In this study, we examined cases of metabolic syndrome in Hualien County, Taiwan. This research adopted the framework proposed by Marchand to establish a study process. In addition, descriptive statistics, a t test, analysis of variance, and regression analysis were employed to analyze 100 questionnaires. The results of the t$ test revealed significant differences in medical health expenditure, number of clinical visits for medical treatment, average amount of time spent commuting to clinics, amount of time spent undergoing medical treatment, and average number of people accompanying patients to medical care facilities or assisting with other tasks in the past one month, indicating that offering telehealth care services can reduce health expenditure. The statistical analysis results revealed that customer satisfaction has a positive effect on reducing health expenditure. Therefore, this study proves that telehealth care systems can effectively reduce health expenditure and directly improve customer satisfaction with medical treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]